Crack: A Love Story
by creativegoddess
Summary: You know those pairings that nobody takes seriously? They just never seem to get any love. Well, here is were the love can be spread. A series of oneshots.
1. FaiKuroClow

**A/N:** Well, here it is! My very first TRC fanfic! It also happens to be my first ever crack fic so I'm not sure how good it is. Well this one was inspired by friend I met on Mangafox and said friend demanded that I write it. I even got to use one of he nicknames for Kurogane. And with that, I've used at _least_ 25 nicknames for the bugger in this fic. -dies- Anyway, this only took me 2 months to complete. Amazing, isn't it? And it's now the longest thing I've written. Much longer than Club Relations... Gah, this thing killed my fingers though. -_-

Also, I'm planning on making this my place for all my lovely crack pairing fics. Don't ask how many there will be, I'm not even going there. I've got too much on my plate right now. Anyway, Please enjoy~!

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing involved in the fic, CLAMP. I came up with the basic idea but that's about it.

* * *

**Crack: A Love Story**

_FaixKuroganexClow Addition_

It all began one sunny afternoon in a new world. It was a rather boring place, a valley of plains and rock cliffs. The struggling course grass was the only thing in sight and wasn't very edible. Fai had tried.

But at the moment Fai and Kurogane were laying against a nice, comfortable rock. Syaoran and Sakura had gone with Mokona to do... whatever it is they do when they're alone. Conversation had been lax as of late and, for some reason beyond understanding, Kurogane seemed intent on keeping it that way. So Fai, naturally, decided to ruin that plan.

"Hmm~ such a nice day isn't it, Kuro-sama?"

No response.

"I wonder if we'll find on of Sakura-chan's feathers in this world. What do you think, Kuro-pu?"

Again, no response.

"Syaoran-kun and the others sure are taking awhile aren't they, Kuro-chan?"

He snapped. "Tch, bastard! Stop using those weird names!"

"Waa~ but they're my tokens of affection! Accept them!"

Furious, Kurogane stood up, with Souhi in hand, and leapt at Fai.

"Hyuu~!" he sang as he easily moved out of the way.

The tall ninja continued his blond magician head-hunting as said blue-eyed beauty danced – quite literally – gracefully away. This game of catch-and-chop was going really well until a blast of a multi-coloured Rainbow of Doom exploded in front of them. The pair skidded to a stop in front of a tall, longhaired, bifocal wearing man.

"Waa~!" Fai cooed. "A visitor!"

"Greetings," said the strangely dressed man politely. "You two seem to be enjoying yourselves."

"Like hell!" Kurogane protested.

Fai waved the comment away. "Don't mind Kuro-chii, he hasn't had his vitamins. He approached the stranger before Kurogane could properly complain. "By the way, you are...?"

The man seemed to have to think about it for a moment. "Hmm? Oh, my name Clow Reed."

The slightly shorter man stared at him in wide-eyed fascination. "Oh, really? Impressive. I'm Fai and this-" he gestured behind him, "-is Kuro-tan."

"Kurogane!"

No one paid any attention to the poor ninja.

After several minutes of amused silence, Fai suddenly jumped on Clow, proclaimed, "He's cuddly!" and proceeded to affectionately rub his head on Clow's shoulder. Clow embraced him, patting him in a loving way.

Kurogane stood frozen in place and stared in both shock and horror at this... interesting display. He had lost any capacity to speak even _thinking_ was beyond him. The only thing he could do was watch the two mages in their loving hug and wonder what had come over them. Well, birds of a feather

Fai looked over to where Kurogane awkwardly stood. "Aww, how lonely!" He waved him over. "Come over here, Kuro-wan-wan! Clow-san has enough love for two!"

That seemed to snap him out of it.

"Tch, bastard! Don't call people like they're dogs!" He began to move, once again planning on teach the beloved Celes wizard a lesson.

"Waa~!"

"My, my."

Fai ducked behind Clow in order to avoid the enraged ninja's wrath.

But as said ninja lunged at the pair, his foot caught on a large rock and caused his foot to lovingly plant itself on a small metal object with various knobs and switches like a lover that it has not seen in a while. The hard "thwack," signaled their emotions at that time, complete longing for one another.

"I suppose that might have hurt," Clow commented just before the light of the Rainbow of Doom engulfed them. The spectrum of colour blinded them, knocked them off their feet and made them feel all warm and fuzzy like a furless wolf given sheep's clothing.

Kurogane groaned, rubbing his head to ease the throbbing. His body felt strange – tingly, light – not at all like his usual hard muscled self. And something was laying on top of him...

He sat up to stare in the face of a very confused looking Clow. The situation only grew more awkward as he noticed that Clow was sitting on him like – well... let's just say it was a very compromising position.

Face turning red, he yelled, "Oi! Get off!"

But Clow only looked more confused. "K-kuro-r-rin?" he stuttered.

Kurogane, who had been preparing to shove him away, stopped at one of Fai's many nicknames for him. Clow Reed didn't seem like the type to use nicknames (then again, he doesn't get out much so who really knows?) and he certainly didn't know all the weird ones Fai used.

Something a few feet away caught his attention and he looked over to see himself standing up. Or more like his body, which looked over at the pair and smiled the same smile Clow wore.

"My, my," he said, rather amused. It was only then that Kurogane realized he was wearing Celesian clothes... and that he remembered how he was seated.

"Ahh!" he all but shrieked as he shot up causing the body of Clow to fall over with Fai's typical "Waa~!" Examining himself, he saw only the nimble mage's body. "What's going on here?"

Kurogane's body moved to stand over the strange device it had previously face-planted on – in fact, there were still marks.

"It seems," the body began in a tone quite like Clow's, "that we have switched bodies."

"Waa~!" came a Fai-like voice from Clow's body. "So I'm Clow-san, Clow-san is Kuro-min and Kuro-min is me? How exciting!"

"Tch, don't say such stupid things. How do we fix it?"

Clow – or more like Kuro-Clow – looked thoughtful for a moment. "You seem to be taking this quite well."

Kurogane – Fai-gane? – felt as if his nerves would snap. Were all mages like this?

"Hmm," Clow-Fai breathed. "Maybe this thing that Kuro-chii fell on caused this."

The trio stood around "this thing", Fai-gane extremely uncomfortable. He did not like this body at all.

"Well, how does it work?" he questioned impatiently.

"I don't know," Kuro-Clow commented absently without a care in the world.

Clow-Fai squatted down and gazed over it. Seeing nothing useful, he poked it a few times.

It whirled to live, indicating that that was, perhaps, how it functioned. And it also seemed that the Rainbow of Doom activated every time it was touched. The same feeling came over them though, now that they were aware of it, they could _almost_ **feel** their bodies switching – their souls being sucked out and shoved somewhere else. It felt weird to say the least.

They woke to find themselves once more laying on the their backs.

"So, now who's who?" asked Fai playfully from the body of Kurogane as he sat up.

However, the question wasn't necessary, it was easy to tell who was who just by looking at their faces. Clow was now occupying Fai's body – for some reason the two seemed to share similar facial expressions – and from how Clow's face looked, Kurogane was not happy.

"Well, at least we know how it works," Kuro-Fai said, standing up.

"And this is certainly an interesting experience," Fai Reed added.

"Tch, stop saying such useless things!"

"Waa~! Kuro-wanka's mad!" Kuro-Fai laughed, amused by the whole situation. Feeling the pull of Kurogane's body, Fai began examining his current body. He twisted this way and that, stretching and moving in every possible way. Much to the real owner's annoyance.

"Hey, stop that!"

"Hmm? But Kuro-mi's so manly!"

Clow-gane roared with rage (which sounded really weird in Clow's voice) and lunged at the ninja-mage. Unfortunately, he tripped over Clow's awkward robes fell, once more, onto his face. Thankfully, the body-switching device was not near him this time.

Fai Reed chuckled at the display. Kuro-Fai danced over to him and gleefully embraced him.

"You're even more cuddly like this!" he exclaimed joyfully.

"As are you," his partner brightly replied.

By now, Clow-gane was absolutely feed up with _everything_. Especially those damn mages. He stomped over to the device and kicked it with all the might his current body could deliver. Not that it was entirely necessary to do so.

After the body switching was complete, Kurogne found himself wrapped in the tight embrace... of his own body.

"Huh?"

"Waa?"

"My, my."

Kurogane (who seemed to have returned to Fai's body) threw off his body (which was still occupied by Fai) as Clow (now back in his own body) produced a small black notebook from somewhere in his robes. If either of the other two men had paid close attention to the book – or even knew how to read English – they probably would have wondered what death has to do to with notes. Magically retrieving a pen from his finger, Clow flipped the book open to a blank page.

"CHANGE," he wrote. "'Switches the bodies of those that come in contact with it.' This certainly has given me yet another good idea for a Card." Returning the little book and pen to their original place, Clow smiled brightly at the still switched pair.

Fai-gane growled in growing rage, though it sounded a bit more like a purr of satisfaction in Fai's voice. This caused Kuro-Fai to start giggling in a weird way, made weirder by being in Kurogane's body. Kurogane does not giggle. Glaring at his troublesome companion, Fai-gane jumped up and slammed his feet into the device again. It only produced similar results, this time with Fai back to his original self. Not that Clow-gane was about to give up.

He pounded on the device over and over again, constantly switching the trio around. Sometimes Fai and Clow were placed back in their own forms. Kurogane never got that pleasure. Just when they were beginning to have fun, it suddenly stopped.

In this break before another switch, the trio was left with Kuro-Fai, Clow Reed and... Fai's body acting in a rather... interesting manner.

The blonde's body was a tree, standing stalk straight but wriggling strangely in the wind. The other two could only stare in wide-eyed fascination at the unusual spectacle much the same way Kurogane had done when they had gotten all lovey-dovey.

"K-kuro-pon?" Kuro-Fai stuttered, carefully approaching his body. Just as he was about to place a hand on his shoulder, a very strong wind gusted in and 'blow' the body away. At least that was how Fai's body acted.

"Ah, Kuro-ryun!" he called as the body crudely danced away in the wind.

"Wait," Clow spoke, as Kuro-Fai was about to chase after him. He bent over and picked up a tiny that he had trapped beneath his right foot. He held it up for his companion to see.

Kuro-Fai leaned in to get a closer look at the thing pinched between the older man's fingers. "A leaf?" How did that get here? There wasn't a tree in sight!

"It must have come with me when I came to this world," he explained. Closing his eyes and waving his other hand over it, he whispered a few more words of power.

The new green leaf suddenly became animated. It wiggled around in a rather cute way, electing yet more strange giggles from Kuro-Fai. The cute little leaf began to make squawking noises that sounded almost like... talking? With a few more murmured sentences from Clow, the pair was able to hear what it was saying.

"Oi, bastards!" the leaf yelled. "Get me out of here!"

Kuro-Fai squealed in delight. "Kuro-poppo, is that you?"

"Stop with those stupid names already!" the leaf scolded him.

"Waa~" the ninja-mage cried excitedly as he pulled everyone into a bear hug. "So you turned into a leaf! Oh, Kuro-mi, I was sooo worried!"

Clow pulled out of the embrace. "Fai-san, I think it might be best if we went after your body now. It wouldn't do to keep Kurogane-san like this any longer than necessary; something might eat him."

Before Kuro-Fai could respond, another huge breath of wind tore past them. It whipped about, tugging at clothes and pulling at hair. It pried at Clow's fingers, finally ripping Leaf-gane from them and blowing him away.

"Ahhhhhhhh!" he screamed as the wind took him.

"Kurogane-san!" Clow yelled, worried for his newly acquainted leaf-ninja.

The pair raced onward, attempting to catch up with the runaway plant.

"What happens if we lose sight of me?" Kuro-Fai panted.

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that." For a guy who didn't seem to get much running in, he certainly was pretty fast. "He's the only leaf in around."

Then, in typical cliché style just to prove Clow wrong, a swarm of leaves rushed by them and intermingled with the still screaming ninja-turned-leaf.

"Hmm," Clow spoke thoughtfully. "Should have seen that coming."

Since this world had not a tree in sight – where all these leaves came from is anybody's guess – it was quite easy to see a certain handsome blond jiggling about among its fellows.

"My body!" Kuro-Fai exclaimed, jumping to great himself.

A hand slapped down onto his shoulder. "Wait," the black-haired mage commanded. "You go after Kurogane-san. I'll catch your body."

The younger man nodded at preceded to pursue him.

Clow, on the other hand, simply stood there. By now, the leaf in possession of Fai's form wasn't even going in the sane direction the wind was blowing. It pranced happily in twirling circles, drawing closer to the mysterious root-of-everyone's-sorrows. Said root-of-everyone's-sorrows raised his hands as if about to cast a spell. Fai-Leaf spun and danced and looked like he/it was enjoying itself to no end. Leaves are such strange creatures.

When it almost seemed like the two were going to collide, Clow's left hand shot out and greeted Fai-Leaf's face with a solid 'thwack'. Fai-Leaf gave off a Fai-noise as it fell over dazed.

Clow stood over the body, carefully examining it for a minute. Now he only had to figure out how to get it back.

~-~-~

Meanwhile, Kuro-Fai was in pursuit of the bunch of leaves.

"Waa~! Kuro-san, stop running away!"

"I'M NOT TRYING TO!" Leaf-gane responded angrily from somewhere in the pack.

The wind kept up its stormy pace, scattering the swirling leaves. Kuro-Fai continued his chase, snatching at any leaf that got close and discarding it when it didn't shriek at him. He was very glad that Kurogane was in such great shape or he might not have been able to keep this up. In fact, he might just want to stay this way to explore this body to its fullest. But the question of how and why the wind always kept Leaf-gane just out of reach bounced around in his head.

"Probably a plot device," he muttered to himself.

That was when he saw it. The land on which he ran dropped abruptly. An opposing cliff face stretched out in either direction about 20 feet away. And the leaves would were flying right towards it. The ninja-mage would have to jump. The problem, however, was that he'd have to catch his dear friend while doing so and he still wasn't sure which one he was. Well, there was one way. The ninja-mage quickly did the calculations in head before enacting his plan.

"Oh, Kuro-puppy~! Come here, you Big Doggy!"

"STOP SAYING SUCH RIDCULOUS THINGS!"

There, it was that one.

Kuro-Fai leaped high into the air as his foot touched the cliff's edge. His arm stretched out, hand grasping the leaf from which sound emitted. Later, Fai would claim that he was able to do many awesome, awe-inspiring mid-air stunts while desperately clinging to his beloved Kuro-wanko as of his very life depended on it. Sakura was the only one who truly believed him though Syaoran wondered about it for months afterwards.

Back in the present, Kuro-Fai's feet landed hard right on the end of the cliff. His arms swung widely as he attempted to stay on solid ground. He tripped, pitching forward and falling flat on his face. Well, Kurogane's body was only as good as the person using it.

Muffled screams came from the now crushed leaf containing the unfortunate Kurogane. He was ignored.

"Hyuu~!" Kuro-Fai breathed, turning over onto his back. "Wasn't that exciting, Kuro-ru?"

There was no response.

He bolted upright. "Kuro-pii?" he asked as he opened his hand.

If it were possible for a leaf to death glare, he was sure he'd be seeing it. The magiked and crumpled little leaf lay there, making strange coughing and wheezing sounds. If one listened closely they might have heard the leaf-ninja matter something about doing some naughty things to the poor ninja-mage that quite a few (particularly said ninja-mage) would take the completely wrong way. Fortunately, Kuro-Fai wasn't paying too much attention to anything he was saying. As usual.

"Oh, Kuro-bee! I'd thought I had lost you! You were just so quiet!" His fingers curled around Leaf-gane once more as he hugged the helpless life form to his chest.

"Bastard, stop that!" Leaf-gane was tired and frustrated. All he wanted was to return to his own body and get as far away from this world as possible. "Just get us back already!"

"Aww, Kuro-daddy doesn't want to spend any quality time with Fai-mommy!"

"CUT THAT OUT ALREADY!"

"Okay~!" Kuro-Fai clipped cheerfully, giggling like a schoolgirl. He stood and began backing away from the cliff's edge.

"...What are you doing?" he was questioned by the leaf.

"Well," he started. "You said you wanted to go back. So that's what I'm doing!"

"No, wait!" They began moving forward. "Stop!"

"Hang on, Kuro-woof!"

"No, STOP IT! AHHHH!"

"Hyuu~!"

~-~-~

At long last, they arrived at the place it all started. Clow was already there with Fai's unconscious body. And it was obvious from his neat appearance and brightly grinning face that he'd used no physical means to return there.

"Clow-san!" Kuro-Fai called loudly, waving Leaf-gane high up in the air. "Look what I found!"

Leaf-gane was to upset to say anything.

"Good work, Fai-san," Clow replied.

The human and leaf pair stopped beside the other two right next to the device that had caused them so much trouble like a certain selfish mage who shall not be named.

Easily and comfortably, Kuro-Fai slid an arm around Clow's waist. "So, what now?"

"What now?" the not so innocent leaf shreiked. He'd been bombarded with random, nonsense babble all the way back and had decided it was best just to keep quiet. Sometimes the mage just didn't know when to _shut up_. Now, he freaked. "Get us back in our bodies, idiot!"

He frowned. "Hmm... What if I don't want to?"

This was followed by insulting and angry gibberish and chuckling.

"I think it's about time we stop teasing poor Kurogane-san. This device has already had its revenge." Leaf-gane sputtered at that. Clow then gently tapped the device.

The Rainbow of Doom exploded around them and when their senses returned to them, they found themselves laying down – although Fai had already been in that position.

He sat up and stretched, his muscles achy and stiff from all the changing and swapping. Though it was nice to be back to his usual self, Fai was a little sad that he was no longer 'Kurogane'. He sighed. He'd just have to find _other_ ways to explore the ninja's body.

A startled scream broke him from his peaceful contemplations of naughty thoughts. He looked up to see a frantic Clow and a calm Kurogane. "Hmm? Are Clow-san and Kuro-woofy still switched?"

Clow-gane growled. "That's it! One more time! If it doesn't fix this once and for all I'll-"

Whatever threat he had planned went unheard however, as a loud explosion made them all jump. Turning to the origin of the noise, they saw black smoke emanating from the body switcher.

"Oh my, that can't be good," Kuro-Clow commented emotionlessly.

Clow-gane gawked at him for a moment, wondering if he had a serious mental condition or was dropped on his head as a child. Then, muttering indistinct and kicked the device.

Nothing happened. He kicked it again. Still, nothing happened. He pounded it. It did not activate. He went crazy on it.

Fai walked up to the crazed man, placing a restraining hand on his shoulder, and said in a cheerful sing-sing voice, "I think it's broken~!"

Clow-gane stopped dead and ever so slowly, almost robotically, turned his head to face the shorter man. "Ehhhhh?"

"I do believe he's right," Kuro-Clow agreed. How could he be so calm in this situation? Maybe it was all his fault, he'd already messed up so many other things.

"So that means Clow-san and Kuro-pii are stuck... this... way..." his voice trailed off as realization hit him.

The towering mage-ninja stared at him warily. "What?"

The expression on Fai's face became dazed and dreamy as he gazed back. "Kuro-tan gets to stay like this!" He glomped Clow-gane, latching onto him and gushing over how cute and cuddly he now was and how he'd never let him go. Clow-gane, a little understandably, was shocked, confused, horrified and a bit flattered by this. He was unable to form proper sentences but it was clear Fai's affection were returned, even if he _did_ look like he was about to murder the Celesian blond. Kuro-Clow simply watched with a knowing grin.

"Kuro-pu! Fai!" came a tiny, high-pitched voice. "You have to hear this! Mokona was just with Syaoran and Sakura and Syaoran was all like, 'Princess, I will definitely get all your feathers back' and Sakura said, "Oh, Syaoran, thanks for doing so much for my sake!'" the small white rabbit thing rambled on, perfectly impersonating the young lovers' voices though she did paraphrase quite a bit. "And then this HUGE dragon came out of NO WHERE and-" Mokona paused, stopping her tale as she laid eyes on the trio. She noticed one dark-haired man in particular. "Clow!"

Kuro-Clow nodded a greeting. "Mokona." This only served to confuse her.

"Kurogane... is calling Mokona... Mokona?"

"Ah, don't worry, Mokona," Fai waved her over and she hopped onto his shoulder. "Mommy will explain everything!"

~-~-~

"Ohohohoho!" Mokona laughed after Fai finished his – likely exaggerated – story. "I see. So, Kuro-ryun is now Clow and Clow is Kuro-rin?"

"That's right! Kuro-myuu's so happy too!"

Clow-gane glared at them. "You-"

"Aww~! This is so exciting!" Mokona interrupted.

"Isn't it, though?" Fai agreed as his grip on poor Clow-gane tightened.

The little joyful creature bounced into Kuro-Clow's hands. "Now Mokona can flirt with Kuro-poppo and he can look cute!"

The ninja-mage chuckled. "I'm flattered. Mokona is adorable as well."

"Aww~ Stop~!" she cooed, turning away with a blush in her face. She loved teasing people, especially Kurogane.

And of course, Clow-gane freaked. Thus, their adventure ended with Clow-gane yelling and being angry in general while Fai flirted and played with him and Kuro-Clow and Mokona flirted endlessly. They were stuck like that, in each other's bodies, for a long, long time.

Clow decided it was best not to mention that he could switch them back whenever he wanted.


	2. SyaoYuui

**Disclaimer:** All characters belong to CLAMP.

**C: ALS**

_SyaoronxYuui Addition_

If one was to describe him, most would just say "He is who he is." It would be hard to tie the boy down with words. He was serious, calm, collected and, at times, seemed almost sneaky. He was soft-spoken, speaking only when necessary and didn't seem to care what people thought of him. But people still could not describe him. Even when asked about his own personality, he'd always respond with a simple "You'll have to wait and see." People waited but they never saw.

Though what they _did_ see was the boy's talent. The boy could do many things and whatever he did, he did well. He got excellent grades, was one of the basketball club's most brilliant players and was one of the best in kyudo, second only to Doumeki. Of course, he was by no means perfect – no one was – it was just that nobody saw any of his flaws. He kept everything locked up inside like a bird in a cage. Or perhaps a fox in chains.

At least, that was how _he_ perceived him. Yuui was not one that could easily be lead around with an invisible carrot dangling in front of his nose. This boy was an expert in leading people around in circles. It wasn't like he was cruel about it though, he just seemed to be highly amused be people's reactions to him. Especially his brother. Yuui knew all of this but that was it. Other than the boy's cryptic nature, no one knew anything about him. Even his own twin only had a vague grasp of his true character.

Syaoron was truly a mysterious person. One that Yuui planned to crack.

Of course, the young teacher was doing it purely out of a desire to make sure all his students were doing well. It was his job, after all. The way things were, Syaoron could come to be in bad shape and everyone would be none the wiser. It just wouldn't do. Not one student of his could go on without someone to confide in the way this boy seemed to be.

Yuui convinced himself of this so thoroughly that he didn't realize he was bullshitting himself. This brunet boy had intrigued the blond man and he was going to do whatever it took to find out why. If only he had taken the boy's sneaky nature into account.

"Oh? Yuui-sensei has taken an interest in me?" Syaoron raised an inquisitive eyebrow at him.

"I'm only worried that you feel you have no one to confide in," Yuui responded with a slight nervous hitch. He hoped the boy wouldn't hear it.

"Confide in, eh?" he mused, more to himself than to the teacher. Said teacher decided he didn't like the glint that appeared in those amber eyes.

He tilted his head at head at him. "Alright, but on one condition"

"What is it?"

"Dig me a grave that's ten feet deep and a mile wide." When Yuui opened his mouth to say something to that, Syaoron raised a hand to stop him. "Build me a bridge that does not span a river. Dance to the song that has long been forgotten. Take the flight of the raven in a chilly breeze. And when all is done when the violet moon is full-" He smirked. "Well, we'll see."

Then he left, leaving behind one very confused teacher.

~-~-~-~

Certainly that had been an odd request and it had caused Yuui to think it over thoroughly. Surely Syaoron did not say tee words in a literal manner, they would be impossible to accomplish if that were the case. Unless that was his intention. Give him something that no one could do and keep him out. But the tone of his voice made Yuui think that Syaoron actually believed all those things could be achieved. He really was a strange boy.

"Still thinking it over?" a familiar voice questioned almost mockingly.

Yuui jumped at the unexpected intrusion to his musings. He looked up, blue eyes meeting amber orbs. Syaoron. And he was smirking.

"Sy-Syaoron-kun," the man stuttered, still not fully recovered from his initial shock. "Aren't you supposed to be in class?"

"I am." He placed his books on the table and sat down. Propping up his elbows while lacing his fingers together, he rested his chin on his interlocked digits and set a burning gaze on the older male. "I just happened to see the cooking teacher sitting all by himself and felt like asking for some advice on how to properly make French cuisine."

Yuui regarded him for a moment before switching his stare to look around the large library. It seemed that Class C had their study hall this period today. He noticed Himawari and Sakura quite a few tables away, cheerfully yet quietly going over some sort of problem among a group of girls. His cool stare returned to the boy in front of him.

"What, might I ask, does French food have to do with this?" he asked calmly, probing him with his eyes.

Syaoron tilted his head in thought. "Hmm, it's the next thing we're working on," he mused, again more to himself than the teacher.

This caused him to blink in surprised confusion. He had, in fact, wanted to teach his students about French dishes. He even had most of the lessons planned out. But how did this boy know? Yuui hadn't actually told any of them about it. Had he gone through the teacher's desk when he wasn't around? If he had, Yuui would- The thought stopped as realization hit him. It was obvious. He had probably asked Fai.

"Do you always spend your study hall like this?"

"Since you usually spend your off-periods in the cooking room, I can hardly spend mine like this, now can I?"

So not only did the young student know about his lesson plans, he also figured out his work schedule. Why did Yuui suddenly feel like he was losing?

"I see," he stated shortly, a hint of annoyance in his voice. That smirk was beginning to bug him.

Syaoron almost sighed; it was more like an exhale of breath. "He still hasn't figured the riddle out," he muttered.

Yuui quirked an eyebrow. "So it is a riddle."

"Of course." That smirk transformed into a devilish grin. "Unless you want me to mean it literally."

"Uhh… no." There had to be something wrong with this child.

"Shame," he frowned in mock disappointment. Something seriously wrong with him.

The bell rang, signaling the end of that period. Yuui sighed, disappointed. Wait, disappointed? Odd. What reason did he have to feel this way? His face scrunched up in confusion.

"Chemistry" Syaoron commented, again startling the teacher. Yuui assumed he meant that was his next class. "Take care of my brother." Then he left in the same manner as the other day.

Yuui sighed, remembering that he did indeed have Class B next. Syaoran's class. That would be a little awkward considering what he'd been talking about with his twin. But then, the pair were so drastically different personality wise so he should be fine. Though, who was he kidding?

~-~-~-~

Yuui collapsed into a chair in the little kitchen/dinning room of the apartment he shared with his brother. Ever since Syaoron had first given him that blasted riddle, he'd been racking his brain for the answer. He wasn't coming up with one. There had to be a reason for such a hard riddle but all he came up with was that it was to keep him out. However, that didn't add up with how Syaoron acted about it, like he knew Yuui _could_ figure it out. It was all just too confusing.

"Hey, Yuui, Kuro-pu is going out tonight so you'll be eating alone," Fai's voice said from somewhere close by.

The cooking teacher jumped at the abrupt sound. That seemed to be happening a lot lately. "Ah, yeah. Okay," he stuttered in reply.

Fai frowned at him. "Yuui… you've been rather distracted lately. Are you alright?" He walked up to his brother and put a hand on his forehead to check his temperature. "Hmm…" he breathed when he found nothing wrong. The he gasped in delight, clapping his hands together excitedly. "Don't tell me Yuui-chan's found LOVE~!"

At this, Yuui's face turned the brightest shade of red it would go. He stared at Fai with wide-eyes and mouth flapping like a fish as he tried to find the words to speak. "Wha- you- that- is- NO!" he finally shrieked in horror.

The chemistry teacher simply goggled. "Waah~! Yuui-cutie's in denial~!"

The younger blond could only gape at him. Where on _Earth_ had he gotten an idea like _that__?_ Love? Impossible. No way in _hell_ would he _ever_ be associated with such a concept. He was only trying to get close to Syaoron because he was _worried_ about the boy and- Why had _Syaoron_ popped into his thoughts at that moment?

He shook his head to clear his mind. He turned a stern face to his brother. "Fai," he began solemnly. "_That_ has _nothing_ to do with _anything_."

The grin on the man's face told Yuui that Fai didn't believe him. "Whatever you say, Yuui."

He scrawled at him. How _exactly_ had he put up with this for all these years? He wasn't entirely sure anymore. Abruptly, something Fai had said earlier registered in his head. "Wait, you said Kurogane-san was eating out so I'd be by myself but you never mentioned what you'd be doing."

Fai giggled, covering his mouth with a hand to hide his mischievous smile. "Well, it would be too sad if Kuro-mii was all by himself."

In other words, he was tagging along uninvited. Yuui sighed, feeling slightly sorry for the brunet but knowing he probably wouldn't mind despite all the shouting he would do as a result. A headache was beginning to form in his skull.

"Well, I'll be off then~!" the hyper-active blond declared as he danced towards the front door. Yuui, for once, was glad that his brother had left. Now he could get some peace and quiet and _not*_ think about what his brother had said. He had a more important matter to occupy his mind.

"Oh, and Yuui!" his twin called from his place in the doorway.

"What is it, Fai?"

"Don't forget about the Mayfly of Love~!" And then he was gone.

Yuui sat there for a moment, leaning back to stare at the closed door. Then he smack a hand against his face. His twin _really_ knew how to spoil a peaceful evening.

~-~-~-~

When Sunday arrived, Yuui decided to head to the local library. He felt the need to clear his head and reading a good book could definitely do that. Besides, he might find a clue to that damned riddle. For the life of him, he couldn't figure it out and it was starting to get to him. It was making him think that even Syaoron had no clue as to what he had said. He'd probably just come up with it on the spot. If there was an actual meaning he bet it would have taken the student quite some time to put it together. And he was pretty sure that the boy hadn't known of his intentions before he'd spoken them. Good thing he was going to the library then.

For the moment, Yuui decided to look through the cook books. Some might criticize his choice but he was always interested in finding new recipes. Plus, if he found any good ones, he could teach them to his classes. He was always a practical thinker. The cooking teacher also pondered the thought of looking at the music books. He hadn't played the piano in a while and he was thinking starting again, though he wasn't sure if the library had any music sheets he didn't already have. It was worth a shot anyway.

Then a certain book caught his attention. It wasn't that the title was particularly interesting nor was the shade of deep grey all that eye-catching. It was this book was obviously out of place among those dedicated to the culinary arts. Someone had definitely put it back in the wrong spot but he couldn't fathom how. If he remembered correctly, the place where this book belonged was nowhere near the cooking section. So who could make such a mistake?

Still, it intrigued him so he picked it up and examined the cover. _Death of a Culture: The Symbols of__Mythological Afterlives_ was what the sprawling letters spelled out. Yuui stared at it for a moment then, for some unfathomable reason, began to flip through it. It wasn't actually a subject he was interested in but the desire to at least scan through it gnawed at him.

His fingers stopped dead as his eyes fell upon one specific entry. It was on ravens. Without fully realizing it, he started to read.

"_In some cultures, the raven and, to a greater extent, crows were believed to be messengers of death. At times they even carried the souls of the deceased into the underworld…"_

The words bounced around in his head, gluing themselves to his brain. Yuui frowned, thinking back to what Syaoron had said.

_Take the flight of the raven in a chilly breeze._

Did "flight of the raven" refer to the "messenger of death"? "Chilly breeze" could mean death as the subject was often associated with the cold. So perhaps what it was really talking about was passing on into the next life.

The connection clicked together inside his mind and Yuui stared sightlessly at the book in horror. Was Syaoron telling him to _die__? _No, he couldn't be. It had to be a metaphor or something. And it had to be the same with the other things as well. Now that he had a clue, he had to pursue it.

Snapping the book shut with a small 'thump', Yuui headed to the front desk to check the book out.

~-~-~-~

Their next encounter happened in the cooking room.

"You seem happier today, Yuui-sensei," Syaoron's voice materialized from nowhere.

This time the blond was composed enough that he didn't jump at the sound. However, he did spin around sharply with wide eyes. He swore the boy was going to give him a heart attack.

"Syaoron-kun…" He blinked at him. "You're supposed to be in class." Was that all he really had to say?

The student calmly approached the teacher, face neutral. "I told Kurogane-sensei that I had something important to discuss with you. He let me come." It occurred to Yuui that perhaps Syaoron wasn't as sneaky as he initially believed. He just knew what things would get the reactions he was looking for. Yuui didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad one.

"And what 'important thing' would warrant getting out of class?"

A slight smile crossed his lips as he regarded him. "Have you figured it out yet?"

It took the cooking teacher a few moments to realize what he meant. Crossing his arms, he gave off a smirk of his own. "I have a clue."

Syaoron raised an eyebrow, as if he was surprised that he had admitted to only having a clue. "And what might that be?"

Yuui gestured for him to sit down and pulled a chair up for himself at the counter. "The raven," he began. "The messenger of death. What you said about ravens means somebody died."

"Do you know what it is?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you know who it is that died?"

He frowned. "I'm not sure what you mean."

The boy tilted his head at the man, eyes containing disappointment. "Then who's the grave for?" Yuui blinked at him.

_Dig me a grave that's ten feet deep and a mile long._

"Who needs a grave that big?" he murmured, putting an elbow on the counter and rubbing his chin in thought.

"Who indeed," Syaoron spoke as he leaned back and crossed his legs.

Eyebrows furrowed in thought, Yuui pondered over the line. He supposed the size of the grave truly didn't matter. Maybe it was out if respect? Historically, those in power generally made huge buildings and statues to fluent their control. But this didn't have the feel of the rich. So maybe…

"A lover?" he asked expectantly, eying the boy before him.

The smile he gave was that of a teacher proud of his student. How ironic.

"My, you're doing better than I thought, sensei," Syaoron replied.

Yuui grinned. "So it's a deceased lover.: He paused, narrowing his eyes at the student. "And just what is that supposed to mean?"

Syaoron laughed, "It means that's two out of five. And if I leave now, I should be able to catch the last bit of gym class."

"Huh?" He checked the clock. Was that really the right time? He hadn't realized they had been talking for so long. "Ah, yes, you should go."

The boy rose and wandered over to the door. Before exiting, he glanced back towards the teacher. "I look forward to seeing how this ends, Yuui-sensei."

Yuui simply stared after him, wondering for the thousandth time what he was up to.

~-~-~-~

The cooking teacher eyed his chopsticks. It wasn't like he couldn't use them, his specialty _was_ food, he just found them a little hard to use at times. Though he was by no means as bad as Fai but coming from Italy did mean he was better at using a fork and knife. Not that it was important, he didn't really know why he was thinking about it in the first place. Nobody truly cared about such trivial information. At least it was relaxing. It took his mind off of more complex things with its simplicity. Picking up his chopsticks, he began digging into his lunch.

"Ah, so there you are, Yuui-sensei," came the mischievous voice of a certain woman.

Yuui turned, chopsticks still in his mouth, to see Yuuko… climbing in through the window. As usual.

"Yuuko-sensei, I have to ask/ Why do you always come in through the window?"

"Ahh? Not even a hello?" she pouted, seating herself elegantly on a chair and propping her feet on the table. "I'm hurt, Yuui-sensei. And here I thought I'd come keep you company." She gestured to the empty teacher's lounge to empathize her point.

He gave her an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, Yuuko-sensei. How are you today?"

She brightened considerably at that. "I'm fantastic! Though I hear you're having a bit of trouble yourself."

"Trouble?" he questioned in confusion. What was she talking about?

Yuuko swung her legs off the table and leaned towards the young man. She patted his hand. "I know how tough this time can be. Just remember there are people here for you."

Now she had him completely lost. "Um, Yuko-sensei? What are you talking about?"

The beautiful woman sighed dreamily and Yuui decided he didn't like that look in her eyes. "Don't worry about a thing, it happens to everyone."

"What does?" he asked as he took a sip of tea.

"Why, falling in love, of course."

He sputtered, spraying hot liquid everywhere. Thankfully, none got on the headmaster. "That-what-you-is- NO!" he stuttered, blushing fiercely as he tried to state how impossible that was. He didn't succeed.

"Ah, what's this? Is Yuui-sensei in denial?"

His face couldn't get any redder. "Yuuko-sensei!"

She smiled in a troublesome way. "My, I didn't know a face could get that bright. It's a lovely shade of red."

"It is not!"

Her laugh ran throughout the room. "Oh come now, just admit it. We all know it's true," she whispered in a scandalous tone.

"I won't because it isn't!" he retorted in a pitch that was just a tad too high. Wait… all? But there was only two who- His eyes turned dangerous. "Did Fai set you up to this?"

"Now now, it's nothing like that. It's only natural that we'd be worried about you. Falling in love can be difficult."

The anger drained out if him. He should have known they would do something like this. At least they weren't advertising it around the school. Yet. He sighed. "I'm not in love, Yuuko-sensei."

She pouted. "Ohh! You're not being fun!" Yuuko picked up a nearby cup and shoved it at him. "Poor me some tea," she ordered despite the fact that the teapot was right beside her.

"I'm not trying to be," Yuui said as he obliged her. He figured it was best not to get her more worked up than she already was.

"Ahh~! Now _that's_ tea," she commented as she took a sip of it. "Yuui-sensei makes wonderful tea! And delicious food too! Oh, but I miss Watanuki's cooking. I'll just have to find a way to get him to make my lunches again." She sighed dreamily once more.

"Uh… thanks?" Yuui spoke nervously as the woman drifted off to her own little world. The words 'slave driver' crossed his mind.

She finally turned back to him. "So, what else is bothering you besides your little love problem?"

He decided to let the love comment drop for now. Placing an elbow on the table, he rested his chin on his hand. "There's a riddle I need to solve."

Another sip of hot liquid. "What kind of riddle?"

"It's about a deceased lover. There's this one line I can't figure out."

"Hmm, well maybe I can be of some assistance."

He perked up a little. "Would you? I'd appreciate the help."

"Of course. Anything to help my dear cooking teacher."

_Dance to the song that has been long forgotten._

"I know it must have something to do with the other lines but I'm not sure how." This was probably just a shot in the dark, there was no guarantee that Yuuko would know the answer to it. It might have been easier to solve the other ones first but he had the feeling that this would be the better of the three to figure out. Like it held a key part of the puzzle.

"Hmm… a forgotten song, eh?" she mused with a smile. After several minutes, she abruptly clapped her hands together in triumph. "I've got it!"

"Huh? Already?"

The literacy teacher stabbed a finger in his direction. "True love!"

He stared at her in confusion. "True… love?"

"Yup," she said cheerfully, a big grin on her face. "If you look around, you'll see that not many people take the concept seriously anymore." She sighed. "Such an unfortunate thing."

Yuui nodded in agreement. It did seem that way. Of course, it was more obvious in some places but most people didn't seem to believe in it nowadays.

"Though I also thought of it because it's Yuui-sensei's problem," Yuuko teased as she raised her cup to her lips.

He was confused again. "What do you mean?"

"Well, it says you have to dance to the forgotten song. That means you have to fall in love."

"Yeah?"

She gave him a sly smile and a devilish wink. "Yuui-sensei is already in love~!"

"I am not!" he exploded, face flushing.

The headmaster threw her head back in unbridled laughter. "Oh, you are so much fun to tease! Not as much fun as Watanuki, though." She finished her drink with a satisfied gasp. "Or that sly pair of glasses," she murmured to herself.

The bell rang, interrupting their peaceful lunch hour. The blond sighed in relief, at least he'd get away from all this. Until he got home, anyway. Then he'd have to deal with Fai. The chemistry teacher hadn't stopped bugging him about the whole love thing since that first day.

"Well, it seems we have classes to teach." Yuuko stood and wandered over to the window, reminding Yuui that she hadn't answered his question from before. "Have a nice day~!" she sang as he prepared to jump out.

"And to you," he replied politely as he cleaned up and gathered his things.

"Oh, and Yuui-sensei," Yuuko called from outside before he could go. She leaned on the window sill. "No one blushes like that unless they are in love." She smirked and left, leaving behind a teacher with a face as red as a ripe pepper.

~-~-~-~

Of course the use of the word 'dance', as interpreted by Yuuko, was the only one Yuui could fit into that sentence. He ran over it thousands of times and came up with nothing. And the strange thought that it was _aimed_ at him somehow got stuck in his head and wouldn't leave him alone. Which was completely ridiculous and entirely impossible and did _not_ make his face feel as if it was on fire _at all_. He tried his best to tune out the taunting of Yuuko, his brother and the Mokonas (the two best friends had gotten those two to join in) but failed miserably. With their words bouncing around in his head, he attempted to convince himself that he was only looking out for Syaoron's best interest. Though he just got more flustered whenever his name came up.

At least he had figured out most of the riddle. He'd decided it was a dead love, not lover, which needed the humongous grave. It made sense if one looked at it from the romantic perspective. In romance novels, men, or just the overly dramatic ones, would go to extremes for that emotion. Some might even dig a massive hole for it if it seemed to have died. Not that Yuui read romance novels, of course.

"Oh, good morning, Yuui-sensei."

The cooking teacher turned to see Himawari coming down the hall towards him. He smiled as he stopped in front of him. "Good morning, Kunogi-san. How are you today?"

She smiled brightly. "I'm fine, Yuui-sensei. But," she closely examined his face. "Is there something troubling you?"

"Eh? Oh, well…" He rubbed the back of his neck. Was it really that obvious? "Well, I suppose."

"Is it something I can help you with? I still have a bit of time before class," she offered.

Frowning in thought, he studied her for a moment. Himawari was a very smart girl and her interests were divers. She might just be able to help him out with the last of the puzzle.

"I'm working on a riddle," he replied, deciding to see what she came up with.

"Oh really? That sounds like fun!"

He smiled nervously. Fun indeed. "Yes, well, I've figured out most of it. The last little bit a giving ne some problems though…"

Her smile turned kind. "Well, let me see what I can do."

_Build me a bridge that does not span a river._

He didn't understand this one at all. Why would someone want a bridge if they had nothing to get over? It seemed like wasted effort to him. Even in the metaphorically sense it was still pretty difficult to-

"I know! It's unrequited love!"

-and yet Himawari got it so easily.

Yuui stared at her for a while. "Unrequited love?"

"Yeah, you know the River of Love, right?" she responded cheerfully. "If the River of Love has a bridge across it, that means the love is mutual. But if the bridge isn't over the river or a river doesn't have a bridge, then the other person doesn't feel the same."

Again, he simply looked at her before sighing in defeat and rubbing his forehead. "Yes, I suppose that fits with the rest of it." Why were people so obsessed with this concept? Even Himawari had a vast knowledge of it. "Thank you, Kunogi-san."

"I'm glad I could help."

"Well, it's best that we move along. It wouldn't do if we were late," he spoke, moving to walk away. "Good luck with your studies. I'm sure I'll figure out the purple moon bit on my own."

"Eh? Purple moon?" She tilted her head in contemplation. "You mean the Violet Moon Bridge?"

The teacher froze and slowly turned to face her. "Pardon?"

"The Violet Moon Bridge," she repeated. "It's not very far away from the dorms for the school so all the students know about it. There's a legend that a man loved a woman very much. But there was a river that separated them that they couldn't cross. So he began building a bridge so that they could meet, he even put a violet, stained glass moon in the center of it because it reminded him of her. Though by the time he finished it, he discovered she had fallen in love with another and got married. She wasn't there anymore. No one knows what happened to the man after that but they say that he killed himself out of grief. Then the river dried up before anyone could use it."

He listened to Himawari's tragic tale carefully. How horrible that must have been for the man. He really couldn't imagine how much pain he must of felt.

"Ah, sorry, was that not what you were talking about?" she apologized suddenly.

"Huh?" He gazed at her dumbly, not fully understanding her of a minute. "Oh, no, there's no need for that. It was a very interesting story. I'm glad you told it to me."

Her grin was bright. "I'm happy you like it." Then she glanced at her watch. "Well, it's time to start the day. I'll see you in class, Yuui-sensei." Then she turned and headed off to her first period.

"Yes, see you then," he called after her before leaving himself, head heavy with swirling thoughts.

~-~-~-~

Now the blond wasn't entirely sure if the Violet Moon Bridge was the correct answer to the last line. There really could be any number of solutions to it. He just couldn't think of any. But even if he _did_ have all the pieces of the puzzle, he still didn't know what the whole thing meant. What was Syaoron's point to all this madness? Why was the whole riddle about some form of love? Why did Fai, Yuuko and the Mokonas have to keep teasing him about the subject? So many questions buzzed around in his mind and he had no answers to them.

"Thank you for your help," Yuui said as he looked around the sparkling cooking room. Okay, maybe that was a bit of an exaggeration but it was still pretty clean.

"You're welcome, Yuui-sensei," Syaoran replied happily, smile shining. The differences between Syaoran and Syaoron were so great it was hard to imagine that they'd grown up together in the same environment. He supposed that was just how twins worked, he and Fai were another example of that.

"It was a bit of a mess today, wasn't it?" the boy commented, proud that their hard work was done.

"Yes, poor Kobato-san. She certainly is… unique."

Syaoran laughed nervously. "Well, her food still tastes really good."

He had to agree to that, despite the rather odd concoctions the young girl came up with. She didn't seem fully capable off following instructions but she was pretty good at making something up. "By the way, there's that kyudo tournament coming up, isn't there?"

"Yup, Nii-san and Doumeki-kun are going to be in it. Their teacher says they're the ones to look out for so they've been putting in extra practice. But…" The young student's voice trailed off and his face looked troubled.

Yuui frowned. "Syaoran-kun?" That explained why the pair of boys had been staying late at school even when they didn't have club activities. But why did he seem so upset at the moment?

The boy sighed and looked up at the teacher. "It's Nii-san. He's been staying out really late."

"Syaoron-kun has…?" Why was he doing that?

He nodded vigorously. "Yes. He's been doing it for a while now. He still comes home early enough that he gets enough sleep but he stays out even _later_ on nights when the moon looks full." He sighed dejectedly. "He won't tell me anything about it either."

Yuui didn't know what to make of all this. Why would a good student like him do something as irresponsible as that? "Does he say where he is going?"

He slowly shook his head. "I just know he heads out behind the dorms."

The dorms? Yuui paused at that.

_And when all is well when the violet moon is full-_

_Well, we'll see._

The cooking teacher smiled kindly at the poor, distraught boy. "Don't worry, Syaoran-kun, I'll look into it. Just go home and get some rest, okay?"

He left without waiting for a response, leaving Syaoran alone to his thoughts.

~-~-~-~

The full moon shone down brilliantly, it's radiance giving everything an almost magically feel. Which Yuui thought was very cliché but what could he do? At any rate, he stood beneath the bridge Himawari had told him about, violet beams of moonlight surrounding him like a veil. It really was a beautiful sight.

Since he hadn't been told the actual location of the Violet Moon Bridge it had taken him quite some time to find it. Along the way he had lost his hair tie to a tree branch so his blond locks fell around his shoulders. He didn't really mind much, it was probably time for him to get a new one anyway.

"Finally figured out the riddle?" The voice was quiet and soft though it still made him jump. Turning around, he saw Syaoron standing just outside the shadow of the bridge. As soon as he laid eyes on the boy in the dazzling light, his heart did something funny in his chest. He blinked in confusion and frowned, finding it rather odd.

"Yes, I did," he replied at a pitch no higher than the students had been.

Syaoron smirked and raised an eyebrow. "Oh really?"

"Well it got me here, didn't it?" His eyes hardened and he crossed his arms. "Which reminds me. What are you doing out so late on a school night? Syaoran-kun's worried about you?"

He took a few steps forward and stopped. "I've been waiting."

"Waiting?" A few more steps. "Waiting for what?"

Tilting his head, he searched the teacher's face. "Why do you want me to confide in you?"

Yuui was taken aback by this sudden and unexpected question. "Well, like I said, I'm your teacher and I'm worr-"

"Is that it?" Syaoron interrupted, eyes gaining an emotion he couldn't identify.

His brow furrowed as he failed to understand him. "I'm not sure I know what you're trying to say."

He received no response as those intense amber orbs bore into him. He was looking for something. What, the man didn't know. Upon closer exception, though, his expression almost looked pained.

Frowning worriedly, he walked towards the boy. "Syaoron-kun, what's wrong?"

"I'll tell you. On one condition."

Condition? Hadn't he already completed the condition? What had all that been for if he was just going to pull something like this?

Yuui sighed, put out by the whole situation. "Syaoron-kun, I don't-" He never got to finish his sentence.

Syaoron grabbed his shirt front and pulled him down, locking their lips in a deep, passionate kiss. Bringing up his other hand, he entwined his fingers in the teacher's silky hair, ensuring hw wouldn't be going anywhere. Yuui, obviously, was completely shocked by this inappropriate behavior, especially when he felt a tongue slipping into his mouth.

"Mm!" Placing his hands on either side of the boy's face, he tried to push him off. Instead, he unconsciously brought him closer. The kiss was strange and new, filling him with a burning emotion that left him dazed, dizzy and breathless. Or maybe that was from how long they were holding it.

Finally, Syaoron broke contact though he did not pull back or relinquish his grip. Faces only inches apart, Yuui could feel his hot breath against his skin.

"S-s-syaoron… k-kun," he stuttered, face flushing brightly. "Th-th-that is… com-completely in-inappropriate!"

The student raised an eyebrow at him. "Is that your answer, Yuui?"

No honourific. So that meant… the kiss was…? Then suddenly the riddle made complete sense. It _had_ been directed at him. Everything was connected to… He was sure his face could get any redder. His heart pounded in his chest as he scrambled for something to say. His brain just didn't want to function at the moment. "Y-you need s-someone to con-confide… i-in…"

"Oh? Do you really think that?" There it was again, that odd, painful look in his eyes.

"Yes." And it was true, he really did think that. But this wasn't- Oh to hell with it all! He really needed to stop kidding himself. "Yes," Yuui repeated, bringing Syaoron's mouth back up to his own. The sneaky student leaned in to it, tasting it as their lips moved in synch. It wasn't as long as the first but it still left the older man shirt of breath when they pulled away.

Syaoron's smile was dazzling, not hiding anything though there was a devilish glint in his eyes. Inappropriate indeed. At least the poor blond was out of his denial stage. However, he still had no clue what he had gotten himself in to.

"Alright," the young boy said, stretching up to whisper in his ear. "Let me tell you a secret."

* * *

**A/N:** This thing is FINALLY done. Man, I swear my fingers hate me now. Anyway, this is my first SyaoYuui story! Yay~! [/huggles them] This is to go out to all you SyaoYuui fans and those I hope will be SyaoYuui fans in the future. I love these two so much yet I never seem able to find many pics or fics for them. This makes me sad ;-;

Anyway, I couple notes on the story. Yes, I am aware of Syaoron's 'mistake' in the cooking room scene. It's supposed to be that way. Everything expect the thing about ravens is taken from my own observations and thoughts. Syaoron's riddle makes me feel smart. Even if I came up with the meaning along the way XD Anyway, I hope you enjoy this wonderful fic produced from my labours. I hope it makes you like SyaoYuui a little bit more~ ^_~


	3. KuroSyaoFaiYuui

**A/N:** So yet another addition of C: ALS as been finished! Yay~! I think this one is shorter than the previous two, not that I think I can make _anything _as long as the second chapter. This chapter is done in a different style from my usual stories. I normally have a but of description with added thoughts mixed into it, rather than having 's/he thought' and things like that. This one, however, really doesn't have much description. Mainly just basic actions and and things. No thoughts so only things spoken tell the story. Thinking it over, I wonder if this note should go the bottom... Eh, it's not revealing anything so I'll leave it here.

About the actually story, I have no idea where the plot came from, it just wanted to invade my mind. And I wanted to try out these pairings and this is the only way I could make them work in my mind. So I just put all four names together since it was easier but I'm sure you'll figure it all out by the end. This story seems quite vague but I think the key points are obvious enough. Anyway, enjoy~

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters in this story. They are CLAMP's.

* * *

**Crack: A Love Story**

_KuroganeSyaoronFaiYuui Addition_

"Yuui! I love you!" Fai cried, slapping his hands down on the table.

Yuui jumped, startled by his twin's sudden outburst. He looked up from the papers he had been marking to stare at his brother. "I love you too, Fai, but I don't see why you have to announce it like that."

"No, I mean…" Fai's face began to look troubled. "I love you."

The cooking teacher was still confused. He tilted his head as he regarded the other man. Then his eyes widened as far as they would go. "Fai!"

"Yuui, I love you," the man repeated, leaning towards him.

He jerked away, expression a mixture of shock and confusion. "Fai, that is- No, I-I'm sorry. I c-can't feel the same," he stumbled over his words.

The chemistry teacher's face turned remorseful but he looked like he had expected that answer. "I understand. I'm sorry to have bothered you." He turned away.

"Fai!" But it was too late; he'd already left the room.

~-~-~-~-~

"You wanted to talk to me, Kurogane-sensei?" Syaoron asked as he entered the gym.

The teacher turned to look at him. "Yea, it's about something."

The boy raised an eyebrow at him. "That's not very descriptive. Might I ask what it is specifically?"

Kurogane held up a piece of paper. "Do you know what this is?"

He tilted his head in consideration. "It's a note."

The man nodded. "I found it with my stuff this morning. It's in your handwriting."

"I suppose that's quite possible."

He crossed his rams, staring down at the student with hard eyes. "I hope you know that this is inappropriate." He didn't want to be mean to the child but this was no time to be soft.

The boy simply gazed back at him, seemingly unaffected by that. "Why do you think it's in a letter?" Then he turned and left the gym.

* * *

"Waah, Yuui hates me!" Fai whined, dropping his head down onto the desk.

Syaoron sipped some tea, not truly paying attention to the distraught teacher. He had his own things to think about.

The blond whimpered, sprawling himself out over the small surface. "He'll never want to see my face ever again!"

The boy sighed. "I'm sure that's not the case. He's probably just not sure how to react to it. Besides, he has the same face as you. There's no way he cannot see you."

The man sniffled and turned sad eyes to him. "You really think that?"

"I do. You just have to keep trying."

Fai sat up and wiped his eyes. "Thanks, Syaoron-kun. And what about you?" The pair had been talking together for quite a while so they knew each other's respective problems.

The student shook his head. "I knew it was doomed to fail before I even sent the note."

"Don't say things like that. You just have to think of new ways to get what you want," the teacher encouraged.

Syaoron smirked. "Yes, I suppose I have to do that. Thank you, Fai-sensei."

Fai beamed.

~-~-~-~-~

"That kid…" Kurogane muttered, not looking pleased. Not that he ever looked truly pleased.

"So that note really was from him?" Yuui asked, picking up a bit of his meal and popping it into his mouth.

The gym teacher nodded. "Though it seemed like he hadn't actually expected anything from it."

The cooking teacher considered that for a moment, chopsticks still in his mouth. "Hmm, maybe he knew you wouldn't return the feelings." Yuui had been the one to find the note, so he knew about Kurogane's situation. In turn, he had mentioned his own problem to the brunet. It was only fair.

"And what about you? How are you going to deal with the idiot?"

The blond sighed. "I'm not sure. He's my brother and yet…" How could he feel that way about me? I can't understand it nor could I ever feel the same."

The other grunted and sipped at some of his tea. "I'm sure you'll be able to work something out."

"I hope so. We shouldn't let this stuff hang over us."

He nodded in response. "I'm sure this will blow over soon."

* * *

"Alright, that's enough," Kurogane called out to the class. "Onto the next exercise." The students groaned but complied.

"Ever thought you're too hard on them?" a familiar voice asked.

The teacher turned around to see Syaoron standing behind him. He wasn't doing what he was supposed to be doing.

"Tch, if they don't toughen up now they'll never get anywhere." He had been a bit wary of this boy since that day. One could never tell what was going on in that head of his.

"That's just like you to say that."

The man sighed. He hated beating around the bush. "What do you want?"

The young student tilted his head and crossed his arms. "As you are a teacher, I thought you could help me."

He raised an eyebrow at that. "And what kind of help do you want?"

"Well," Syaoron began. "I have a friend that really likes someone but they are not sure if that person feels the same. This friend isn't sure how to find this out."

"Is this friend you?" Kurogane questioned.

He smiled. "I didn't know you were so observant, sensei."

"Then you should already know the answer to that," he grunted.

A strange expression crossed the boy's face. An almost bitter smile replaced his usual mischievous one. "Yes, I suppose I do." Then he walked off to join his classmates.

~-~-~-~-~

"…Yuui?"

The blond turned at the sound of the rather meek voice. It was Fai. He seemed nervous and not at all like his usual self.

"What is it, Fai?" he asked, smiling softly.

The other man shifted on his feet. "About the other day…"

Yuui sighed. "Fai, I'm-"

Fai cut him off, waving his hands in front of him. "That's not it! I mean… um… We're brothers, I know that. Can we still be how we were before all this?"

"How we were?"

He nodded. "Before I-" He bit his lip.

The cooking teacher's whole stance softened. "Of course, Fai. I'll always think of you as my dear brother."

The blond's face was a mixture of happiness and sorrow. "Yay~! Yuui!" Spontaneously, Fai jumped on his twin, pulling him into a tight embrace and burying his head into his shoulder.

"Ah, F-Fai!" Yuui smiled nervously and patted the chemistry teacher's head.

"But even so…" he murmured, snuggling closer. "I'm not going to give up."

The other man looked down at him sadly. "Fai…"

Fai pulled back, determination in his eyes. "Because Yuui-cutie is so adorably uke, how could I ever give up?" His happy, joyously teasing tone didn't match his serious expression.

Said 'cutie' blushed fiercely, backing up into the table behind him. "Wha- Fai- you- that- I'm not cute!"

He giggled. "So you admit to being uke?"

Yuui glared at him, face beat red. Childishly, he picked up a bag of flour and flung it at his brother. But it was too late, he had already darted out of the room and the flour went 'puff' on the door.

* * *

"Wah~ Yuui's so mean to me!" Fai complained, collapsing in a heap on the table and conveniently separating a certain someone from their lunch.

"Oi! Don't just fall on the table like that, idiot!" Kurogane pushed on the blond's shoulders so he could try to get at his sushi.

He didn't budge but he did look up at the other man with a comically sorrowful face. "Oh, Kuro-meanie-sensei! I'm being serious!"

The brunet rolled his eyes. "Oh really? I couldn't tell."

The blond pouted. "Even though he said things could be normal… he probably doesn't want to see me."

"Have you thought about how wrong your feelings might be?"

"I told him I wouldn't give up."

"So don't."

Fai stuck his tongue out at him. "You're contradicting yourself, Kuro-myuu."

He shrugged. "It's none of my business anyway. Now give me back my lunch!"

The blond leaned back, taking the bento with him and holding it out of reach. "Eh? Does Kuro-wanko want this?"

"Give it here!" He lunged for it but was held back by a foot.

A silly grin was plastered on his face. "I'll give this back if you promise to help me~!"

"Tch. Fine." He managed to snatch it back.

"Ew, sushi." Fai wrinkled his nose at the contents.

~-~-~-~-~

"You have a lot of books on baking," Syaoron noted as he flipped through them.

"Yes. My brother and I both like them so I find myself making them a lot," Yuui answered.

"Hmm, interesting."

"What about you?" he asked, leaning over to look at the recipes with him.

The boy shrugged. "I don't really have a sweet tooth but that stuff is fine on the occasion."

"Not fond of sweets?" he asked in surprise.

"Not really, no."

"Then why are you looking at cakes?"

"Because you're having love problems," the student stated, not looking up from the book.

Yuui stared at him, having nothing to say to that.

Syaoron turned to him, looking completely innocent. "Love problems can be so complicated, can't they?"

"And I suppose you'd know about that," the teacher said warily. "But would you know about me?"

"This is Horitsuba," came the simple reply.

"What do you want, Syaoron-kun?" he finally questioned.

"There's something I would like you're help with.

* * *

"So what exactly do you need help with?" Kurogane demanded, trailing along behind the blond.

"You'll see when we get there~" Fai replied, swinging his arms back and forth as he walked.

"I'd prefer to know now," he grumbled, looking annoyed.

"Eeehhh? But that won't do." He looked behind him, giving the other man a wink. "It's more fun this way."

"Tch." The brunet rolled his eyes. "Why the hell do you need my help anyway?"

Fai turned away so he couldn't see his somber expression. "I'm not giving up. I'll make Yuui see," he whispered to himself.

"Eh? Did you say something?"

"Ah!" He spun around, shaking his head vigorously. "Nope, not a word."

"Hmm…" Kurogane looked as if he didn't believe him. "So where are we going then?"

"You'll see when we get there~" the blond teased.

A loud snap split the air. Kurogane froze, eyes wide as Fai continued walking backwards.

"OI!" Get out of there!"

~-~-~-~-~

"I'm not entirely sure why you need my help," Yuui commented randomly.

"There is something I wish to acquire," the boy replied. He led them out in a seemingly random direction. "But it is quite a stubborn thing and not easily caught."

"So I suppose you have some big, elaborate scheme in order to get it." The blond sighed.

"Oh? What makes you say that? I would never do something so devious."

He rolled his eyes. "Sure you wouldn't."

A sad, hopeful, almost remorseful look crossed the student's face. "Kurogane-sensei is quite the hard one to crack, don't you think?"

The teacher looked down at him sadly. "But don't you think a relationship with your teacher is a bit…?"

Syaoron chuckled, a small smile on his lips. "Perhaps. Most people see it that way, don't they?"

He sighed again. "Syaoron-kun, I'm not trying to discourage you or anything. It's just-"

The boy held up a hand to stop him. "I know. I understand. But I won't give up."

A resounding boom broke their peaceful moment, bringing their attention elsewhere. They saw it.

"Fai-sensei!" Syaoron charged.

"Syaoron-kun!"

* * *

"Wah~! That was soooooo scary!" Fai hugged himself and closed his eyes.

Kurogane scrawled at him. "If you had been paying attention, that wouldn't have happened."

"Eh? But I didn't know that section of the school was under construction!"

"Then maybe you should have checked to make sure there wasn't any, idiot."

"Ooooohhhhhh, Kuro-rin is so mean!" the blond whined, burying his head in his arms.

The brunet sighed and rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

"Although…" he began meekly, peeking out to glance at the other man. "It is a shame about Syaoron-kun."

Kurogane froze in the middle if picking up his tea. "Yeah."

"I hear he'll have to use crutches for a long while."

"He'll have to skip on club activities and gym. He can't do anything with a broken leg."

"It must be painful," Fai murmured.

"Tch, of course it would be. I hear it was a pretty bad break," he said as if it were nothing.

"Wah~ Kuro-chi! Don't say such things so casually!" the chemistry teacher scolded. Then he looked thoughtful. "I should make it up to him."

The brunet looked at him. "Make it up to him?"

He nodded slowly. "Yeah, I need to. Say, Kuro-pu, can you help me?"

~-~-~-~-~

"How's your leg?" Yuui asked, sitting down beside him.

"Still," was the simple reply.

The blond chuckled. "Is that all? Doesn't it hurt?"

Syaoron shrugged. "I think the painkillers might still be in effect. It feels numb to me."

"Hmm, maybe that's for the best. Pain isn't a pleasant thing."

He tilted his head innocently at the man. "Really? I think a little pain now and again could be quite nice once in a while."

The teacher raised an eyebrow at him. "Are you a masochist?"

"Are you?"

He clicked his tongue. "This isn't about me."

"I thought it was."

"Don't twist my words around."

"I'm quite good at that, you know."

The man sighed, head spinning. "So I noticed." He regarded him for a moment. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Of course I am. It was only an open fracture."

"_Only_ an open fracture?" He shook his head. "A broken and exposed bone shouldn't be described with 'only', you know."

Syaoron merely shrugged again. "It's really not that big a deal. It will heal.

Yuui felt like slapping his own forehead but refrained from doing so. "Syaoron-kun?"

"Yes?"

"Is there something I can do for you?"

* * *

Kurogane paused just in the doorway as he saw someone sitting on the bench "Oi, what are you doing here?"

Syaoron looked up at him. "I have something I need to talk to you about."

The gym teacher sighed. "My answer is still no."

"I didn't expect it to change."

"Then what do you want?"

"My attention seems to have drifted," he said.

The man raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

The student shook his head in disappointment. "And here I thought you would know what that means."

"Just get on with it," he grumbled.

"That letter isn't necessary anymore."

He stared at him, eyes narrowed. "Is that so?"

The boy nodded. "Yes, it is."

"Why?"

He chuckled and shook his head. "That is none of your business, Kurogane-sensei."

He almost glared. "Oh really now?"

"Yes, really." Syaoron struggled to stand, putting all his weight on his crutches. "I'll be off then."

"Alright then," Kurogane replied. "Take care of that leg."

"I will." Then he hobbled away.

~-~-~-~-~

"Yuui-chan~!" Fai sang as he hoped up to his twin.

"Yes, Fai?" the other blond responded, turning to look at him.

The childish man pulled him into a tight embrace. "I love you~"

Yuui sighed, expression sad. "Fai, I've already told you, I-"

He immediately released his twin and stepped back with his hands up. "Aah~ that was just a declaration of brotherly affection!"

The cooking teacher raised an eyebrow at him. "Is that so?"

He nodded. "You know, Yuui. I've liked you for a long time…"

The man sighed again. "I-"

"But," he suddenly brightened. "You don't have to worry about it anymore."

Yuui blinked and stared at him.

"'Cause guess what~!" The chemistry teacher clapped his hands together, a huge grin on his face.

"What?"

"I found someone else more important to me~! Isn't that exciting?" He began to giggle madly.

His brother smiled brightly. "That is exciting, I'm glad for you."

"But Yuui-chan will always have a special place right here~" He took his hand.

"Gah! Fai! No!"

He burst into another fit of giggles. "I'm only kidding. I wish Yuui good luck too~!" Then he skipped off to parts unknown.

* * *

"Kuro-poppo~!" Fai called, jumping on the man and kissing him on the cheek.

"Oi! Get off of me!" Kurogane shrieked in response.

"Aww! You're so meaaaaannnnn!" he pouted.

"I don't care! Don't go around jumping on people!"

The blond released him, a woeful expression creeping onto his face. "But… aren't you suppose to kiss the person you like?"

"That doesn't mean you can just-" He froze. "Huh?"

The silly man suddenly looked quite happy. "Fai likes Kuro-wan-wan~!"

"Don't talk in third person," he scolded. "And I thought you liked your brother."

Fai shrugged. "Eh, I'm over that. I guess it was because I'm so sexy~" He struck a suggestive pose. "We have the same face after all~!"

He rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

The blond's face fell. "You don't feel the same…?"

The brunet stared at him for a moment before sighing. "Idiot." He pulled him into a hug. "I do."

The other man gazed at him with a strange look in his eyes. "You do? Oh Kuro-puff, I _knew_ we'd get married someday! Let me give you a big fat kiss!"

"Wha- No! Get off me you- mmorphfff!"

~-~-~-~-~

Yuui tilted his head as he entered the room. "Uh, Syaoron-kun?"

"Hello, Yuui-sensei," the boy said. "I was wondering if we could have a little talk."

He frowned. "Are you sure you should be wandering around with that leg of yours?"

"I have crutches."

"But shouldn't you be in a wheelchair?"

"I thought this was about you."

"When was this ever about me?"

Syaoron tilted his head, looking innocent. "Wasn't it always about you?"

The teacher raised an eyebrow. "And when exactly did this happen? I'm afraid I don't recall."

The student lifted a finger and gestured for him to come closer.

He stared at him for a few minutes before sighing. "You can never give a straight answer, can you?" He went over to him.

The boy quickly grabbed him and pulled him down.

"Mmphf!" He pried himself away, face a deep red. "S-syaoron-k-kun… th-that w-w-was…"

"Inappropriate?" He smirked. "It's not like you're not used to that."

"B-but th-th-that i-i-is s-still…"

"Would you like another one?"

He blushed more. "M-m-maybe…"

Syaoron smiled brightly. "Then I'll take you up on your offer from before."

* * *

Kurogane stared at a frazzled looking blond as he collapsed onto the table. A moment passed.

"Are you okay?"

Yuui glared at him. "I've fallen into a trap."

He raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?"

The cooking teacher buried his face in his arms. "It is."

"And how is that working out for you?"

He turned up to give him a look.

The brunet shrugged. "It does seem to be stressing you out."

He sighed. "It's not really stress. Syaoron-kun just likes to… say and do interesting things.

"A student?" the other man questioned.

Yuui blushed and turned away. "And what about you?"

Kurogane paused. "Fai… has ideas."

The blond laughed. "My brother is certainly an interesting one."

"He's weird."

"Is that why you're with him?"

He scoffed at him. "I have my reasons. At least he's not some kid."

"Is that so?"

He death glared the cooking teacher. "You're picking up bad habits from that kid."

Yuui tilted his head. "…I think I might be…" He sighed and closed his eyes. "But still… I enjoy it."

"A student?"

He frowned. "It will work out. Better a student than my own twin."

Kurogane shrugged. "It's none of my business anyway."

"Thank you, Kurogane-san."

He grunted, causing the other man to smile.

"And since Fai promised to tell me everything, I'll promise not to say a word."

The brunet spluttered, spraying tea everywhere. "That idiot."

The blond laughed.

~-~-~-~-~

"How's the leg doing?" Fai asked, propping his chin on the back of his chair.

"It's fine, thanks for your concern, Fai-sensei." Syaoron smiled kindly.

He returned it. "That's good. Though I'm sorry. I didn't know that would happen."

"It's not your fault. We didn't expect that section of the school to be undergoing work."

"But still…" The blond frowned.

He waved it off. "It's fine, the end goal was achieved."

The man suddenly brightened. "That's right~! Things worked out perfectly~!"

The brunet smiled devilishly. "They did indeed."

"Oh, and do you like the thing I sent you? I got it to make up for the leg."

"Yes, I love it. And I'm sure Yuui-'sensei' will enjoy it as well."

He giggled. "Kuro-woof helped me pick it."

The student chuckled. "That poor man."

"He enjoyed it~!"

The boy shook his head in amusement.

"Should we tell them?" Fai asked suddenly.

Syaoron tilted his head. "You mean the truth?"

He nodded. "I'm think they find us weird for our 'feelings'."

The student smirked. "Leave it alone. It will be fun to tease Yuui-sensei about his twin 'falling' for him."

The blond smiled slyly. "And Kuro-pyon will be all scrawlly when I talk about how a student was being all 'lovey-dovey' will him~!" He burst into a fit of giggles as the boy chuckled.

"Well, things turned out the way they were planned, even if there was a… slight change," Syaoron mused.

Fai grinned. "This was much more fun than doing it the usual way~!"

"We should do this more often."

"Yup~!" He clapped his hands together. "Now let's spend time with our cute ukes~"

The boy laughed. "Yes, let's."


End file.
